Touch is a Funny Thing
by liltrix
Summary: Jack has gone quite a while without physical contact. Tooth can fix this. The shift from innocent affection to something more. Tooth/Jack. T for later chapters.
1. Firsts

**Chapter 1: Firsts**

The first time Tooth touched Jack was in a whirlwind of small hands prying his mouth open to get a better look at his molars. To his initial surprise, Jack had felt less of an invasion of privacy than a surprised bewilderment. In fact, he'd almost enjoyed the attention, simply because he'd spent three hundred years getting none of it.

Tooth touched Jack tenderly when she placed her hand on his shoulder in a moment of comfort, when he'd found out he had memories he'd known nothing about. That was the first time Jack had caught a glimpse of just how deep her compassion was.

When Tooth hugged Jack and spun him around after the end of the battle, her soft feathers brushing his neck, small arms holding him tight, Jack felt a _much _more bewildering flurry of emotions (some of which were definitely firsts) as he hugged her back, before he settled on simple content and ignored the others.

Jack enjoyed the contact because he hadn't experienced it in a long, long time. (He knew now he'd experienced physical affection from his family, but before he'd regained his memories he'd had no recollection of any caring touch at all). And he appreciated all of the small physical gestures the Guardians gave him, no matter how small and fleeting; but for some reason, Jack found he appreciated it from Tooth the most.

The Guardians had decided to have a quick celebration at the North Pole after the defeat of Pitch, with a plentiful feast and abundant music - eagerly supplied by the elves. As the festivities died down, the Guardians dispersed all at the same time, with Bunnymund giving a (nearly out of character cheerful) salute as he opened up his tunnel and disappeared into its depths, Sandy waving silently as he left to spread dreamsand on his schedule, and Tooth and Jack in tow as they said their goodbyes to North. North had spoken to Tooth fondly in his goodbye, and had said less to Jack, opting to –rather crushingly– hug him instead.

And then it was just the two of them in the biting Northern air, flecks of Jack's snow beginning to dust their frames, the bright light of the Midnight sun giving off the illusion of daytime.

Jack pulled his arms over his head nimbly in a stretch, his back to Tooth. He was a bit nervous all of a sudden, and he couldn't place why. He stared at the sky with a furrowed brow, as if it could give him an answer, but alas, its pale blue expanse provided no relief to his scrambled thoughts. Biting his lip, he turned suddenly to face Tooth, but hadn't expected her gaze on him, and he started a little. Tooth obviously hadn't been expecting him to turn so quickly either and Jack saw a bit of color creep into her face (or was that just his imagination?).

Smoothing her colorful head feathers, Tooth regained her composure as she flitted closer to Jack, and smiled. "I suppose I'll see you soon, then."

"Yeah," Jack said, "don't be a stranger." As soon as the words left his mouth and hung in the icy air, he realized they had more meaning than he'd meant. In fact, embarrassingly enough, they sounded near desperate. Tooth seemed to realize it too, because regret flashed in her eyes as she probably thought back of Jack's seemingly interminable isolation from the world- from _them_. The Guardians had all been busy with their duties and none of them had realized how very alone and lost the winter spirit had been all that time.

Tooth put her tiny hand on Jack's shoulder and he was reminded of only hours ago when she'd performed the same consoling gesture.

"Of course I won't," she said softly, and Jack could tell her words held deeper meaning, too.

They stood there for a beat, her hand still resting on his shoulder, the flurries of the snow picking up momentum around them, when Jack, on a sudden, wild impulse, pulled Tooth in and embraced her. This was _definitely_ a first. Jack couldn't remember the last time he'd initiated a hug with anyone at all; he knew he hadn't since his past life, and that was definitely a long time to go without doing so.

The embrace had been on such sheer impulse that Jack pulled away nearly a second after the contact, blushing violently, his heart pounding fast.

Tooth looked stunned, and this time Jack was sure there was extra color in her face.

"Uh, I- sorry," Jack stammered, giving Tooth what he hoped looked like an apologetic grin but was probably more of a shaky grimace. He stared at the ground, mentally chiding himself because he was sure now she was probably regretting lingering with him while saying goodbye.

Tooth just shook her head, smiling, though there was now a bit of confusion in her eyes. "Don't be… _sorry_, Jack," she said. Jack looked up hesitantly and saw Tooth was studying him like she was trying to figure him out. Her confusion melted into understanding, and Jack saw her feathers rise and fall as she exhaled. Then, to Jack's surprise, Tooth wrapped her arms around him gently, her body temperature once again contrasting sharply with his.

"Don't be sorry," she repeated, her voice a delicate whisper that brushed against the skin of his neck like a sigh. Tooth's body was all warmth while his was all ice; Jack felt the immediate urge to shy away from her heat so he wouldn't make her cold and uncomfortable, but every fiber of his being was clinging to her touch. His body was so dreadfully starved of physicality that he clung to it without thinking.

"Okay," Jack said softly, blinking fast, and he hugged her back with tentative shyness, his hands resting above her wings. "Okay."

* * *

**a/n: I know this subject has been** **_touched _on (hehehe) with Tooth/Jack and Jack's crave for physical affection, but I've wanted to do a fic dedicated to it for weeks. ****  
So hopefully I'll be able to continue it. :D  
**

**These two give you cavities, I swear.  
Please review and let me know what you think!  
**


	2. Anchor

**Chapter 2: Anchor**

After going without basic affectionate touch for three hundred years, it was going to take a while for Jack to get used to any of it. Not that he minded in the least. He definitely craved it. It was just different. Good different.

Whether he knew it consciously or not, Jack would feel himself smile when North would pat him good naturedly on the back, or when Bunnymund would wrestle him to the ground after he'd pissed the rabbit off (it was all in good fun), or when Sandy would high five him after a well pulled prank on the elves.

But out of all of the Guardians, Tooth was the one who seemed to instigate touch the most. It was almost as if she was letting him know that she was there, that he was needed, that he was _wanted_, with a hand briefly on his arm during conversation or a little pat to the shoulder as she passed him by.

Sort of like an anchor.

(Sometimes, Tooth would even take both of Jack's hands in hers in a moment of excitement as she talked, usually dropping them soon after, embarrassed- but Jack found this very endearing).

And ever since Jack had initiated that hug with Tooth back at the North Pole, Tooth had taken to hugging him more when they parted ways, using it as a casual form of saying goodbye. Jack reciprocated the sentiment, even though every time she pressed herself to him he felt himself react in a very non-casual fashion. He always tried to push this to the back of his mind but he just could not get his heart to slow down and it was getting to be a bit of a problem. But he always hid it and gave her a genuine, appreciative smile.

Because he did appreciate it. All of it.

* * *

Recently, Jack's memory had been coming back in waves. He'd gotten flashes of what had happened in his human life and what had led to his death, but the entirety of his life before becoming Jack Frost was a vague blur. He knew of his parents and sister and some of the villagers in his old town, and he remembered the gist of major things that had happened to him, yet still occasionally memories came back to him suddenly, like a strange after effect from them vanishing.

It happened (for perhaps the second or third time) when he was visiting Tooth at the Palace during the summer. He had a lot of work off in this season, since a great portion of the world was now not in need of his cold, and every so often he would stop by Tooth's palace and catch her at a break- not that there were many, but Jack came to note that she usually took a pause around dusk for a while to recuperate. And on one of these occasions, just after he and Tooth had caught each other up as to what had been happening lately and she was all set to go get tea (or nectar or something of the like), Jack had a flashback. Or perhaps_ flashback_ was not quite the right word, because it was as if one moment he didn't remember something, and the next he did.

And the strange thing was that it was a happy memory.

In a mere manner of seconds, Jack had the vivid recollection of sitting at an old withered wooden table with steaming plates of food. Even the contents of the plates Jack remembered: beef that had been kept fresh with salt for the winter with roasted cabbage and carrots as sides. The most random of details were startling vivid (as somehow happens in memories), such as the smell of the beef mixed with the vegetables and the blazing fire at the hearth and the condensation building up at the windows as dusk turned into deep night. He and his family sat around the table for just another normal dinner- except, no, this wasn't a normal dinner, this was his _birthday_, and his parents and sister were looking at him with such adoration, such apparent familiarity and love in their eyes-

Jack sucked in his breath at the memory. Even though it had been full of joy, it had caused Jack to feel an ache so strong for his lost family that he felt nearly nauseous. This was odd because he felt quite at peace with the demise of his past life and all the lives that had accompanied it. Being an Immortal, and a spirit of nature at that, Jack was well acquainted with the passing of seasons and of life and death. Old had to make way for new, and he realized this. Yet now there was hollowness in his chest that Jack hadn't felt in a while.

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to stumble a bit on the grassy ground of the palace; almost instantly, Jack felt a pair of hands grasp his arms and steady him. It was Tooth, her eyes wide with concern. He blinked, shutting his eyes tight before opening them again to try to relieve the vertigo.

"Jack?" Tooth was saying, her voice somewhat frantic. "Jack, are you okay?"

Tooth still had him gripped tight, scrunching his sweatshirt in her hold. Somehow, the pure physical touch of her hands around his shoulders felt like an anchor steadying him in the sea of his unexpected bout of turmoil.

"Uh…" Jack stared at the ground for a moment, the lightheaded sensation from before finally leaving him. Shaking his head, he met Tooth's eyes and felt immediately apologetic once he saw how worried she looked. "I'm- I'm fine."

Tooth looked incredulous. "You're _fine_? Jack, you are anything but. You nearly toppled over right here in the palace, and I didn't even notice if you were feeling sick or- I was just going to _leave _you here, too, and-"

"Tooth, it's not your fault." Jack sighed, eyes drifting over the beautiful palace scenery without really looking at anything. "I just… I remembered something."

"You… remembered something?" Tooth stared at him for a second before realization dawned on her face. "You remembered something," she repeated, her voice softer. Then she looked worried again, "was it something bad-?"

"No!" Jack reassured her hastily. "No, it was actually… it was nice." Sighing, he moved to sit down by the water and Tooth did the same, her wings fluttering rapidly. "Sometimes bits and pieces of my past life will just come back to me randomly. It can be pretty draining. This one was a memory of a, uh- a birthday I had once. My family and I were around the table, and… Well, everyone was so…" Jack trailed off, staring intently at the shimmering surface of the palace's lake.

"Warm?" Tooth prompted.

Jack turned to her, his face brightening. "Yes, warm! That's it! That's… it exactly. And I guess, um." He shrugged and swallowed hard. "I guess I felt this weird, uncontrollable surge of loss when I remembered something like that so _vividly_. I mean, I'm over all of it, Tooth. I am. As much as anyone can be, that is. I'm not tied down to my past or anything, but… it's- it's hard, sometimes." Jack could hear his voice break a little at the end of this, and he scowled at the lake as tears started to form in his eyes, face burning (which really meant took on the temperature above freezing), frustrated with his obvious display of emotion.

His scowl evaporated, however, when he felt the slight touch of Tooth's hand on his shoulder again, no longer a disconcerted grip but a compassionate comfort. When he turned to look at her, she smiled softly, and Jack was taken aback by her unassuming beauty: the curving purple tips of her eyelashes, the mauve of her lips, the beautiful luster of her plumage. But the real beauty was in the kindness in her eyes, the tenderness in her smile, and Jack felt something move inside him. The hollowness that had taken over his chest was now being filled with a warmth that spread to his heart that contrasted with his natural cold, a warmth much like he had felt on that birthday all those years ago. (There was something different about it, too, in the way that his skipped and his chest swelled but Jack couldn't place it.)

Tooth's gentle hold had a sturdy quality that had brought him back from those uncertain depths, and Jack relished the feeling. They stayed there a little longer, her hand not leaving his shoulder all the while.

* * *

**a/n: I really need to start having chapters written in advance before I pose one, but I always want to post one right when I feel it's finished. Whoops.**

**I hope you guys like this one! Feel free to give me suggestions on what sort of situations you might like to see. :D lol this is like the third time I've used the metaphor of an anchor in my fic writing but shhh. Review and tell me what you think!  
**


	3. Teeth Inspections

**Chapter 3: Teeth Inspections**

"Hey, Jack?"

Jack looked up from the patterns he'd been creating absent mindedly on the fence at the side of the road to see Tooth staring at him apprehensively. He was taking a walk with her (well, she flew, mostly), as they sometimes liked to do in their scattered off time- and every outing was always somewhere appealing in the world. Jack always chose cold landscapes while Tooth tended to gravitate towards warmer climates, opting for the tropics of Southeast Asia over the ice of the Tundra. She didn't quite mind the cold as much as Jack minded the heat, but he liked to see the different scenery that he normally did not come across. Besides, they never went anywhere either of them would be uncomfortable. Tooth sometimes bundled up for the colder climates while Jack occasionally would just wear a short sleeved shirt he'd found to use for the warmer weather instead of his normal hoodie.

(There had been a moment when the word _date_ had crossed Jack's mind as he thought what these walks could mean, but he'd quickly dismissed it, because they were just friends and what was wrong with friends wanting to spend some time together alone, enjoying some scenery? Nothing, that's what).

Today, Tooth had chosen a walk in the mountain region of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S., a sort of happy medium for the both of them; the sun was setting, creating a brilliant meld of oranges and yellows and pinks, the fluffy clouds clinging to the disappearing glow of the golden light.

"Yeah?" Jack jumped down from the fence, skidding his staff over the pebbles and enjoying the way they slightly popped from the ground as they abruptly froze.

"Well… I suppose I never really got the chance to apologize to you."

Turning to her, confused, Jack stopped dragging his staff. "Apologize for what?"

Tooth sighed, rubbing her arm. "I mean, it's no big deal at all really, but I was thinking about it the other day- and I guess I felt a little bad for being so up close and personal when we first met."

"When we first- Tooth, why are you thinking about that _now_?" Jack was more baffled that before. Summer was coming to an end, and it had been nearly five months since Jack had become a guardian. There was no reason for her to be stressing over anything like this.

"I don't know," Tooth huffed. "I'd just been rusty at actually interacting with anyone other than my Teeth fairy helpers and occasionally the Guardians, and it crossed my mind that you probably didn't appreciate my fingers all up in your mouth and… well, first impressions are important, right?"

Jack stopped walking then. "You can't seriously believe that after all this time I'd be holding some sort of stupid grudge for that, do you?"

Tooth smiled sheepishly. "I know, I know. I was just thinking about all my first meetings with everyone and… well, I thought about ours."

Jack's heart skipped a beat at the word _ours_ and he chided himself. Smirking and quickly hiding that reaction, he said, "You think too much. Actually, I kind of appreciated the attention. I mean, yeah, it was a little… different. But who am I to argue that my teeth are awesome?"

Laughing, Tooth nodded and flitted closer to him, her feathers dancing with her movements, the dimming glow of the sun giving her an iridescent sheen. "So do you mind if I… um. Looked at them again?"

Crossing his arms, Jack deadpanned, amused, "Tooth, was that what this whole charade was actually about?"

Blushing, Tooth protested vehemently, "No! I mean- it just occurred to me that I hadn't really _seen _them up close in a while and- oh Jack, you don't even realize how lovely your teeth are- all white and pristine- you really are lucky you know, but I bet you don't even appreciate them to the extent you _should _be appreciating them. Why, if I had teeth like yours, I'd-"

"Tooth, Tooth," Jack cut her off, laughing again. "Okay, okay. It's kind of a weird request, but it's not like I'm surprised, coming from you."

"Hey, that sounds like an insult!" Tooth said indignantly, but she couldn't hide her grin. She flew close to Jack, close enough that he thought he could feel the heat radiating from her body, and he gulped nervously. Then her face was only inches away from his, her purple eyes sparkling with excitement.

Jack opened his mouth a little, feeling suddenly very self-conscious about all of this when he'd been joking about it a second earlier, and nearly fell over when Tooth pried his mouth open wider, her hummingbird tendencies coming through subtly in the way she moved her head swiftly at different angles to inspect his teeth.

"Just as gorgeous as I remembered them," Tooth sighed dreamily, purple eyelashes fluttering. Jack felt his heart skip _again _and couldn't believe he was reacting this way to Tooth admiring his molars. But was it a surprise, really? Because she was admiring him, and the fact she thought of him in any way beautiful (be it his teeth or otherwise) made him either want to sing in happiness- which was odd because Jack never sang- or kneel to the ground so he could hide his warming face. Both ideas were equally humiliating.

All of a sudden, Tooth poked one of his teeth gently with the tip of her fingernail, as if to test its stability. Jack instinctively backed away a little without thinking, not expecting the contact, and Tooth took this as the signal that he wanted her to stop. Quickly, she took her hands away from his mouth and gave him a guilty smile.

"Thanks." Tooth rubbed her arm again awkwardly (Jack noticed it seemed to be a nervous mannerism of hers).

Jack nodded, not quite sure what to say to someone who had just asked to inspect his teeth and then thanked him for it. "Uh… do you want to just, um. Keep walking?"

"Of course!" Tooth looked relieved at the proposal, and they resumed their stroll among the tall coniferous and the snow peaked mountains, not talking for a little while.

Jack's mind had begun to wander as he gazed at the sunset and looked for the first appearing stars of the night sky when Tooth spoke up.

"Was that weir-"

"Tooth, you're thinking too much again."

"Oh. Right."

They continued walking for a bit when Tooth interrupted the silence again with, "Because I can totally understand if you-"

Sighing, Jack cut her off once more, "You know what? I actually _like _the fact you think my teeth are… beautiful or whatever. I'm not used to that sort of attention, okay? I mean, it feels… it feels good! So, yeah. It's not weird. Well, okay, it's a little weird, but not in a bad way. It's nice. Great, in fact." Jack felt a rush of embarrassment flood through him and pretended to find the dirt path they'd taken off the road very interesting. Glancing back at Tooth, her look of surprise melted into a soft smile.

"Well, okay," she relented. "Good." And she began to flit down the path again as they recommenced their walk.

After more quiet, Jack said with a grin, "My teeth just must be pretty great, huh?"

"I'm really inflating your ego here, aren't I?" Tooth grinned back, shaking her head, and they both laughed, the sound echoing in the wide expanse of the mountains, the sun finally lowering its yellow light behind the looming wilderness.

* * *

**a/n: I'm surprised at how fast I updated! (Well, fast for me lol). But this chapter just sort of came to me this morning and I was on a roll. I hope you guys liked it. :D I see Tooth as being confident most of the time, and sure of who she is, but I can also see her being a little insecure when it came to Jack.**

**These are all third person limited in Jack's perspective but I might switch it to Tooth for some chapters? I don't know yet if I should.  
**

**Let me know what you thought!  
**


	4. Catalysts

**Chapter 4: Catalysts**

One of the wonderful things about being able to ride with the wind over the world was seeing everything from a different point of view. Jack loved the seeing the sweeping landscapes from so many feet up in the air. But unnatural sights could be interesting too, and this time of year had an abundance of them in the form of fireworks.

Since summer in the Northern hemisphere was Jack's off season in a lot of the world, he found himself lingering in Burgess more than any other time of the year, which meant he also stuck around for the Independence Day fireworks.

This year, however, was different than any other Fourth of July he'd experienced, because he wasn't alone. Tooth was with him.

And if their random nature outings hadn't felt like dates, this certainly did. But still, Jack pushed that to the back of his mind because friends did this sort of thing all the time and there was really nothing to get freaked out about- so it didn't make any sense at all that when Jack mentioned how he tended to see the Independence day fireworks every year and Tooth said she'd never seen them, his stomach got this decidedly weird twinge of happiness and apprehension.

It probably didn't mean anything because it only lasted a second, and he ardently accepted her suggestion to see the fireworks with him.

Friends saw fireworks and the like together all the time. Jack didn't know what his stomach was getting so worked up about.

* * *

They chose a spot Jack knew, not far from Burgess, that had a relatively high point so that the fireworks in the distance were level with their view. Jack led Tooth to a small clearing toward the edge of the mountain, the steeping rocky ledge not far from where they landed. The summer's grass was green and lush with life, and Jack relished the feeling of its blades underneath his bare feet. Although he much preferred to stand on cold fluffy snow, he could appreciate other aspects of nature, too.

Tooth dropped down next to him, her eyes vibrant and wide with anticipation. Jack studied her, smiling a little at her excitement. "You've seen fireworks before, right, Tooth?"

She looked at him, surprised at the question. "Well, yes, of course!" Tooth said, purple eyelashes blinking rapidly as her expression turned thoughtful. She slowly made to kneel on the ground, and Jack followed, sitting cross-legged. "But it's been… years. Fireworks have been around for a long time, but I've simply been too busy to ever see any. After all, I hadn't even been out in the tooth-collecting field in centuries before all that with Pitch."

Jack chuckled as he thought back on their teeth gathering mission a few months ago and Tooth being so unable to contain herself that she ran into a billboard. "You were pretty hyped up," he mused.

"Yeah," Tooth said, laughing a bit at herself. "But you couldn't blame me!"

"I couldn't," Jack agreed, recalling the gentle nature in which Tooth had dealt with the children, and how she said that was the part she missed the most. Indeed, he could not blame her, for all of the Guardians had a fondness for children. It was part of the reason they were all chosen to be Guardians in the first place. And it was one of the reasons he so admired Tooth. Glancing at her again, he smiled as Tooth gazed onto the town below, clutching her knees into her chest with her hands, her form beginning to take on a glow in the increasing moonlight.

He felt it again: that twist in his stomach (that was not entirely unpleasant), and he looked away, scrunching up his brow as he distractedly nestled his feet past the grass into the fresh summer dirt. Jack was seriously starting to question his reactions around Tooth. It was disconcerting and he didn't want to overthink things but he was internally freaking out a bit too often lately. In fact, he had begun to freak out just then, but at that moment, a loud crack permeated the air and Jack turned his attention sharply to the sky. Out of his peripheral vision, Jack saw Tooth's feathers move with excitement as the colorful fireworks filled the air and the resounding boom that followed after.

Smiling, he leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. Almost as if it was an unconscious reaction, Tooth did the same- or rather, she leaned to the side, closer to Jack, her hand an inch from his, and all of a sudden he found it extremely difficult to keep his mind focused on the colorful explosions when he felt the warm of her hand so near, yet not actually touching. Which was strange, really- Tooth had taken to be near him so often (she was just naturally that way) that Jack had gotten used to it, so there really should be no difference in being close to her now than there should be any other time. Perhaps it was the fact that this… whatever _this_ was… was more intimate than usual?

Jack shook his head hastily at the thought- there was nothing intimate about seeing some fireworks with a friend. He repeated this angrily to himself as if scolding someone else in his brain that insisted on making his life confusing.

Suddenly, Tooth shifted beside him, and her feathers brushed against his sweatshirt sleeve, but it was as if her feathers had brushed against his skin instead because every nerve in his body seemed to stand on end. Swallowing hard, Jack felt himself tense, and he dug his fingers into the dirt.

"Jack, these are amazing!" Tooth exclaimed brightly between the boom of fireworks, and Jack, not expecting this, jumped, losing his balance when his hands slipped on the grass, and fell backward slightly, preventing himself from falling all the way by landing on one elbow. Tooth turned to him in surprise, her eyes wide. "Are you okay?" she asked, twisting around and moving a bit closer to him, her hand now covering his at her shift in position.

"Uh- yeah!" Jack said hastily, embarrassed at his obvious lack of composure, and at the fact she was still so goddamn _close _that the sides of their bodies were nearly pressing against each other and now she was actually touching him. With his free hand, he propped himself back up into a normal sitting position, and Tooth glanced at him dubiously, but turned back to the fireworks.

Belatedly, Jack realized her hand was still covering his.

Okay, this really should _not _be that weird. Not only was Jack used to Tooth's habits of physical contact by now, but they hugged all the time- what difference did her hand resting on top of his own hand make? Apparently, it made a lot of difference, because Jack's body tensed again.

He looked at her hand, and marveled at its petite quality, so tiny and delicate looking in comparison to his own, all rough and icy. Vaguely, Jack wondered, as he often did when Tooth touched him, if the coldness of his skin bothered her. At the moment she seemed quite occupied with the Fourth of July display, but there were times when he nestled in her embrace with the undermining worry that his low temperature made her uncomfortable, and she was just too kind to admit it.

"That was so wonderful!"

Tooth's voice broke Jack out of his reverie. He glanced up only to find her looking at him quizzically. The sound of distant clapping and cheering filled the air, and as Jack looked to the sky and found that the fireworks had just ended (had it really been nearly twenty minutes gone by already?), it dawned on him that it must have appeared pretty strange for him to be staring at their hands rather than the show's finale.

Much to Jack's dismay, Tooth seemed to take this as a sign that he felt uncomfortable at her touch and pulled her hand off of his quickly, her feathers fluttering. She looked discomfited, and Jack wanted nothing more than to dispel this, to say he was actually amazed she was in physical contact with him so much in the first place, and he opened his mouth to tell her but what tumbled out instead was, "Did you know fireworks originated in China?"

Tooth, surprised, turned her head to the side a bit. "I didn't know, actually."

Jack tried to backtrack, flustered. "Uh- I mean. Yeah. Random fact. I read sometimes and I guess I gathered a lot of dumb knowledge over the years." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, inwardly cringing. Smooth.

"Well, the more you know," Tooth giggled softly. Then she sighed, content. "This was fun." She moved a little bit toward him like she was going to embrace him, and he moved a little in the same way, only to stop when she did. They paused there a moment awkwardly, and Tooth smiled again, this time completing the gesture by flitting close enough to wrap her arms around him. But there was something off in the way they were moving toward each other this time; his head must have been in the wrong angle, because as she got closer, Tooth's mouth brushed against the skin of Jack's cheek as if she was going to kiss him. Tooth faltered but didn't stop her hug; Jack on the other hand completely froze at this, his arms midair, his hands hovering. His heart was hammering so hard it felt like it was going to beat out of his chest (and he almost worried that it would).

Their hug was a second too long; or rather, based on the circumstances, it was too long compared to the ones they normally shared. Because unlike their usual hugs, Jack was not hugging back, and Tooth seemed either oblivious to this or she was ignoring it.

When she pulled away from him and Jack read her expression, he decided it most certainly must be the latter, because there was a decidedly embarrassed set in her features.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, _anything_, but found to his horror that his throat was dry and talking seemed to be impossible. Finally, he rasped, "I guess- I should get going. Snow to make. Havoc to wreck. The usual, you know."

"Right! Yes, you should get going," Tooth agreed vehemently, nodding. "I mean- I should too. Memories to store, workers to manage."

After another pause, they parted in opposite directions into the dark sky, the smell of leftover smoke from the fireworks lingering in the air. Jack shook his head in an attempt to clear it as he rode the wind up into the low clouds, his staff gripped tight. The fireworks show may have been over, but something else was definitely beginning.

* * *

**a/n: This could be the start of something neeew~**

**I don't know why HSM came into my head. Yay, a new chapter for Valentine's Day! I'm definitely indifferent about the holiday. But I like candy.**

**Will Tooth and Jack finally set on the path to realizing their feelings? We just don't know. (Well, I do. Kind of.) This is gonna be a slow ride.**

**All of these chapters have been in Jack's perspective, and since it's about his journey into the world of physicality, I should probably keep it that way. But it can be too bad we can't read exactly what Tooth is thinking. I hope you guys like limited third person lol. This is the longest chapter yet, but they're not very long in general, since each one is a specific scene/moment, even though it's still a continuing narrative. Which means maybe I should be posting more chapters...  
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**Please take a minute of your time and review, it means a lot! :D**


	5. Support

**Chapter 5: Support**

It was strange how quickly it all seemed to happen, because Jack had felt, for the most part, fine when he'd been in warmer climates before. True, he didn't frequent them much at all until he'd started hanging around Tooth, but he'd assumed his body had gotten used to the change. Perhaps it was because before they'd only gone to areas that were relatively warm.

This was the first time they'd gone anywhere _hot_.

When Tooth had suggested they go to the southern region of the tropics of Thailand because it was especially beautiful that time of year, Jack had been initially wary at the idea, but shrugged it off, thinking it'd be fine. It wasn't like he'd any problems before. And just because he hadn't been anywhere so hot, in a morbid way he almost wanted to see if he _could _withstand this sort of climate. Jack was curious. But even so, he didn't plan on anything bad actually happening; he wasn't a masochist.

* * *

"Look, isn't it wonderful?"

Tooth's voice brimmed with delight as she and Jack flew above the lush greens of the Southeast Asian tropics, Babytooth following close behind.

Jack nodded in agreement, but realizing she couldn't see him anyway, quickly added, "Yeah, it is." The sun was shining fiercely over the rainforest, its brilliant light showering the treetops and colorful plumage, and in turn the foliage cast dark shadows to contrast the golden glow. Mountains peaked in the distance, but they were certainly not snow-capped: their crests were covered in blue green brush. Yes, it was certainly something akin to what might be on an exotic postcard.

However, it was also hot as hell.

Now, normally in a warm climate, Jack would tell Tooth they probably shouldn't stay there long, lest his body react negatively. But for some reason this time he felt reluctant to say anything, which was ironic, because this was the hottest place they'd ever gone to. Perhaps it was because Tooth looked so excited with being there. Thailand wasn't far from her Tooth palace base; she seemed at home in this region of the world, Southeast and South Asia in general. Vaguely, Jack felt a pang of something at that- the fact her _home _might be somewhere Jack didn't belong.

Nevertheless, he felt the heat beating down on him and spreading over his icy skin the first five minutes of being exposed to it, but didn't say a word. Instead, he tried to focus on the scenery as they touched down on the ground.

Babytooth pecked the nape of Jack's neck affectionately and he smiled at her. This wasn't the first time she'd gone with them somewhere, and Jack appreciated the distraction from Tooth, because while he obviously very much enjoyed her company, it was hard being alone with her sometimes. (And yet it could be so easy and comfortable at the same time- it was all very confusing).

And so the three of them made their way through the immense jungle shrubbery, Tooth knowledgeably pointing out different variations of flowers and the occasional animal. Jack rubbed his arm absently as he followed along, pushing up his sweatshirt sleeve, and looked down in confusion when he noticed his skin felt… clammy. This was a first. He gripped his staff tight, glancing down for a second to the dirt, and did a double take: he was leaving trails of ice on the ground that he wasn't consciously producing. Not only that, but the ice trails were _melting _only seconds after being created, and that would seem logical considering the heat if not for Jack's normal ability to keep his own ice he produced cold while he was still a few feet away from it.

Jack looked down at the skin of his arm again: his body appeared to be frantically trying to cool itself down by producing ice literally over itself, but it was too tired to withhold its effects, so it keep reproducing it. His skin was frosting over and re-frosting itself like crazy. He definitely needed to tell Tooth about this. That was the thing to do. No matter how much he wanted to keep her happy or keep her from worrying, he knew logically that it wasn't fair.

But when he opened his mouth, Jack discovered to his annoyance that his throat was as rough as sandpaper, and the words died before they could escape out into the air. This really was not turning out to be his day.

Babytooth, who had been fluttering a few feet ahead along with Tooth (who was still talking obliviously), looked back at him and appeared to do a double take. Anxiously, she tried to get Tooth's attention.

Unaware of Babytooth's anxiety, Tooth turned around casually, in the midst of a sentence. "And this is actually a variation of plant that is _very _good for your teeth-" She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of Jack and quickly flitted over to him. "Jack? Oh my god, Jack! Are you okay? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Jack would've been amused by how she couldn't seem to focus on one question at a time if not for her level of distress and the burning sensation that was crawling underneath his skin and behind his eyes, causing his vision to blur and tears to well. He rubbed at them and let out a sort of guttural frustrated growl when he found his body was still frosting and re-frosting itself over and over again to no avail.

Tooth was propping him up now; to his surprise, he'd begun to fall over without even realizing it. Jack stared at the ground, confused at his lack of balance, and looked to Tooth. Her face was etched with worry, eyes wide and bright. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but words were proving to be really hard right now. Really seriously hard.

Suddenly, something seemed to dawn on her. "Oh, god… it's the heat," Tooth whispered. Shaking her head, she clenched Jack's shoulders tighter. Her hold was like that anchor again, except this time it was literal support. She was keeping him upright; she always was stronger than she looked, after all. Even though he felt terrible, his stomach rebelling with nausea and his head swimming, Jack felt a strange comfort in knowing she was preventing him from falling over, her small hands gripping him tight.

"I'm so _stupid_," Tooth continued, "of course this would be too hot for you. But I wasn't even thinking about it because it was never a problem before-" She stopped herself short, her voice an octave higher than normal out of alarm. Jack watched as Tooth's expression changed from panic into set determination. She really was amazing. "Babytooth," she said, pulling out her authoritative Tooth Fairy voice, "here's what I want you to do."

But Jack never heard what Tooth wanted her to do. The heat was too much for his body- it seemed to have given up coating itself in layers of frost. His powers dwindling and his form slumping against Tooth's feathery frame, Jack succumbed to the black depths of unconsciousness.

* * *

Jack dreamt of old, long forgotten memories mostly, the scenes vaguely melding and confusing themselves with one another until he couldn't really tell exactly _what_ he was dreaming of except for his sister and his parent's laughing faces. It wasn't unpleasant- quite the opposite, in fact. But he felt he had to wake up for some reason.

Yes, he was half-awake now, his mind somewhat present in reality but also still held partially captive by the clutches of dreams. And the memories started giving way to images of Tooth, her face bright as it usually was, and then twisted with worry. That wasn't right. Tooth shouldn't look like that. Jack wanted to tell her so, and to do that he had to wake up. He felt himself stir and he wasn't sure if he was still half-dreaming or not until he felt the gentle grasp of a hand on his wrist; then he knew.

It was Tooth, and she was beautiful like she always was, all full of colors and shine, but something was off. Her expression was the same as it had been in his dream- or perhaps that hadn't been a dream?

"Jack," Tooth said softly in relief, and the hand on his wrist squeezed. A ghost of a smile formed at her lips. "You're awake." Jack shifted and realized he was lying on soft sheets in a bedroom he hadn't seen before. _On _was the keyword, because he wasn't lying underneath them. There were wet rags pressed to his skin. He looked around the room again, disoriented. Noticing his wandering gaze, Tooth added, "I got Babytooth to get North and we brought you to the Pole in the sleigh. You're in one of the guest rooms now."

As if on cue, a booming voice filled the room: "Jack!" Tooth let go of Jack's wrist and he missed her hold immediately. North came hurrying in, carrying a basin of water. He stopped at Jack's bedside and put down the basin, his expression mirroring Tooth's. "Ah, my boy, you gave us scare," North said, his voice uncharacteristically grave.

"I, ugh-" Jack tried to say something, but his throat still felt incredibly rough.

"Drink, drink," North urged, giving him a glass from the bedside table, filled to the brim with ice cubes and not much water. Jack poured some of the ice cubes in his mouth and was shocked to feel them melt on his tongue which should normally be about the same temperature as ice. The ice water slid easily down his throat.

Finally, able to speak, Jack rasped out, "I'm sorry, you guys-"

"Sorry?" North's loud voice was disbelieving. "Why would you be sorry? You did not ask for crazy heat rampage and physical rebellion!"

"But I knew there might be a possibility of something happening if I went somewhere hot," Jack argued. Then he added, "Well, okay, I had no idea _this _was going to happen, and especially not to this extent, but… It's still my fault. I guess I shouldn't have risked it." He glanced at Tooth, who was silent. She looked even more distressed than before, if possible, her eyes wide.

"I suppose you have to learn a lesson from this," North said seriously. "There are people who care much about you now! You don't want to worry them, yes?"

Jack swallowed thickly at North's words. He knew he'd been accepted into the Guardians' "family" of sorts, but it was still weird (nice weird) to hear it said out loud. He nodded stiffly against the pillow.

"Good," North said, seemingly satisfied. "I will get more ice for glass." Jack looked at the glass on his bedside table, surprised to see it half empty- he hadn't realized he'd downed so much of it in one go.

After North left the room, Tooth was still silent for close to a minute, so Jack nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard her say, "This was my fault, Jack."

Twisting his head to look at her, he saw her head was bowed and her wings drooped. "No, Tooth- are you kidding me?" Jack protested incredulously. "This was _my_ fault. I should've said something. I could've said something. I just got so used to hanging out with you that I didn't want to disappoint you by-"

"Why would you have disappointed me?" Tooth's guilty look turned into one of total bewilderment.

"I don't know," Jack sighed. "It's stupid. You just seemed excited about going there…" Jack looked her in the eye then; he wanted to make sure she got this clear. "If I had known I was going to react this way, I wouldn't have gone! I mean, yeah, I kind of wanted to see if I could handle it, but still."

Tooth nodded solemnly. "Okay..."

She still looked distressed, so Jack took her hand, and then immediately became embarrassed at the impulse decision because her eyes widened slightly.

"Uh, sorry-" Jack said quickly, more out of habit than anything, because he knew Tooth was fine with their contact.

"No- I mean, it's fine! It's just usually I would be the one to touch _you_, and not the other way around…" Tooth trailed off, her face reddening. "That sounded weird, didn't it?"

"No," Jack lied; heat was rising to his face that he knew had nothing to do with the heatstroke. It was true, Tooth was nearly always one who instigated touch and he supposed they'd both gotten used to that. For some reason, Jack's thoughts suddenly drifted back to fireworks and soft grass and the accidental brush of Tooth's lips- it hadn't really left his mind since it happened and it had been a two weeks since then. She probably had no idea why he faltered and frozen (no pun intended) in that hug and it was killing him. He couldn't even really place why. Not exactly. His own feelings were confusing the hell out of him.

As if she was reading his mind, Tooth started, "Um- I kind of want to talk about someth-"

But for the second time, she was cut off that day as North burst into the room with the same vigor as always, carrying a tray of glasses filled with ice water. Jack shot his hand away from Tooth's as if it was on fire, like they'd been caught doing something when they really hadn't been doing anything at all.

North looked from Tooth to Jack curiously but seemed to shrug it off quickly and didn't say anything about it, instead telling Jack he could certainly stay here as long as he needed.

Tooth didn't bring up what she was going to say again, and North left soon after because he had business to attend to, but Tooth stayed for quite a while longer. Somehow her hand found its way to his wrist once more, the gentle hold a steady support and constant reminder that she was there; as he drifted into sleep, Jack wondered how long she'd stay after he lost consciousness, and what she had meant to ask him.

* * *

**A/N: North, you're such a cockblock.**

**Sorry it's been a while, guys! At least this is the longest chapter yet. I definitely meant to finish it sooner, but it kept getting away from me. I hope Jack's reaction to the heat made sense? It was basically rebelling against itself in a vicious cycle.**

**You're all lovely in your reviews. :D I'm happy so many seem to be enjoying the story. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, so please keep on letting me know what you think as always! I probably could've done more with it but I wanted to post it. You can go ahead and make suggestions of specific "touch" instances or moments you'd like to see.**


	6. Dancing is Intimate, Isn't It

**Chapter 6: Dancing is Intimate, Isn't It  
**

Since Jack had been around for three hundred years, it shouldn't be a shock that he had some knowledge of dancing before his memory relapse. After he remembered his human life, he could recall festivals where he'd done traditional dances with village girls, but even before this Jack had watched dances evolve over the years (they'd certainly changed quite a bit) and sometimes he would even join in, pretending others could see him as he moved his lively nimble feet to the quick rhythm of the music. It was nice to indulge in a fantasy once in a while.

As it was North's tradition to hold a party of sorts before the beginning of every new season according to the Northern Hemisphere, one was held at the beginning of September. The parties didn't just include the Guardians but in fact included all sorts of Spirits and protectors of the world, beings that had jobs but went often unbeknownst to most humans. Yes, the parties were quite big indeed. Jack had missed the first one at the end of spring, partially because he figured he'd already had festivities with the Guardians after Pitch's defeat, but also because being around a bunch of people that could see him so soon kind of freaked him out.

But he was ready for the end of the summer party. There was music, as parties often have and Jack would expect, the elves joyously taking the opportunity to whip out their instruments. What Jack didn't expect was there to be dancing.

The problem wasn't really that dancing was involved, but more… _who _the dancing was involved with.

* * *

"Actually turned up, eh, Frostbite?"

Jack turned to face the 6-foot rabbit who was smirking down at him with his bushy eyebrows raised, leaning against a tall willow tree. The party was just beginning and many had yet to arrive, but there were already many gathered in the field ripe with the end of summer, its green grass vibrant as if to give its last hurrah. North held each party in a different location of the world, changing each year except for the party to end fall and welcome winter, which was always held at the Pole. This year the festival for the end of summer was held in a beautiful grassy plain in South Carolina. Shrugging, Jack simply replied with, "Guess I felt like coming this time."

"I have to say I was surprised before." Bunnymund uncrossed his arms and stepped up from the tree. "I thought for sure you'd have been at the other one; Guardian of Fun, life of the party, all that. Get some alcohol in you and I wouldn't want to miss you running around like a twit."

Jack smirked. "Maybe I didn't want to miss _you _getting drunk and having nostalgic flashbacks and sobbing all over the ground," he countered.

"Wha- who!" Bunnymund sputtered unintelligibly, and then glared. "What has North been telling you?"

"Don't really remember, Cottontail," Jack said, full on grinning now. "Maybe I'll loosen up and let you know when I've got a few drinks in me." With that, he started heading across the field, laughing as he ignored Bunnymund's indignant yelling; but unfortunately in doing so he bumped right into something soft and feathery.

_Tooth_.

"Tooth! Woah, sorry," Jack said quickly, flustered. It had been a couple weeks since his distressing incident in the hot climate of Southern Asia and hadn't seen Tooth since. He supposed she'd been busy with her job and all, but in the back of his mind the words _I kind of want to talk to you about something_ had been ringing in his head like a persistent echo.

Straightening, Tooth smiled, obviously delighted to see him, if not a little flustered herself due to the pink now filling her cheeks. "Jack! It's fine! I'm just happy to see you." She moved, then, as if to hug him, but since they'd already bumped into each other, the initiation of a hug now seemed awkward, so she hesitated for a second until Jack put his own arms around her.

There was something odd, again, about this embrace that reminded Jack of the fireworks. He was hyper-aware of every part of Tooth's body touching his, her feathers brushing against his skin and her hands curled into the hair at the nape of his neck, her chest and shoulders moving slightly with her quickening breaths. Every sensation was heightened, but the lovely smell of Tooth overpowered the scent of the disappearing summer with its late blooming flowers and a lingering sweetness that always seemed to persist in the air. The hug felt like it lasted forever; it was as if both of them forgot how to pull away. When Tooth finally did, Jack resisted holding onto her more tightly.

Upon pulling apart, they stared at each other for a moment, blinking and a little bit dazed, until Jack said hastily, "Um! So. How's the, uh… teeth collecting been going?"

"Oh, you know," Tooth laughed nervously. "Busy as always. But I decided to take the night off for once. For… the party."

Jack looked at her, confused, because it seemed like she'd wanted to say something else rather than the party, but he decided not to question it. "Well, I've been pretty busy, too. Bringing a blizzard here, a little snowfall there. I also started the _best _sled ride the other day, kind of like the one with Jamie." After Tooth gave him a look, half stern and half amused, he added, "Hey, those baby teeth have to come out somehow, right?"

Tooth laughed, shaking her head. Jack smiled, pleased with himself; he felt something warm bloom inside his chest. He loved it when he made her laugh. She glanced around a bit and Jack followed her gaze. Everyone had appeared to arrive at the end of summer festival by now; Jack could just make out North's towering figure over dozens of heads toward the end of the clearing. Sandy was floating next to him on a chair made out of sand; seeing Jack, he waved, and Jack reciprocated the greeting. As much as Jack enjoyed being a free spirit (who, yes, still had to abide by the laws of nature but there were always loopholes), it was also nice to be in the same place with all the Guardians gathered.

Suddenly a tinkling noise filled the air. North was tapping a glass with a spoon and the clamor of the crowd eventually began to diminish until only the sound of distant crickets permeated the air.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming!" the Russian boomed. "Great turnout, yes? Even Groundhog, I see you made it out of the ground for a time to join us!" Jack saw North nod at the short furry animal to his left, and out of his peripheral vision he also noticed Bunnymund roll his eyes.

"Anyway," North continued, "it is now time for dancing as is custom for every end of summer festival- I have the elves here to accommodate with good music- let us begin with famous Russian waltz, eh?" The music started up as if on cue and the majority of the party began to mingle and mix and find their partners.

"Hold on, dancing?" Jack looked at Tooth dubiously. "I didn't know there was going to be dancing."

"Do you not know how to dance, Jack?" Tooth asked, surprised.

"Well, no, I do, but…" Jack trailed off helplessly. He may have had a vague recollection of dancing as a human, but dancing to him had always been so… _solo _along with everything else the past three hundred years. He hadn't danced with anyone actually _physically _in so long that it kind of terrified him. He snapped out of this momentary internal crisis when he saw a hand extended his way.

Tooth was smiling mischievously. Taking on an overly posh voice, she asked, "Then may I have this dance, Jack Frost?"

Jack stared at her for a second, taken aback, and then returned her grin, taking her hand in his. "You may, my _lady_," he said in a voice matching Tooth's that made her giggle.

"It might be a little weird dancing with me since I'm so used to moving in the air," Tooth warned him as they made their way through the swarm of people toward the dancers.

"It wouldn't be weird, Tooth, it's you," Jack said, the grin still on his face- then the grin faltered as he realized what he'd just said and he felt his face heat a little. Tooth blushed as well, appearing startled but pleased nonetheless.

The waltz number was impeccably timed (as incompetent as the elves seemed to be at making toys, they were certainly proving to be surprisingly fine musicians) and many of the crowd seemed to be well acquainted with the dance, although some looked on in the sidelines. Finally, Jack was able to lead Tooth to the center of the field. What initially seemed like a great idea now seemed a very bad one because Jack was about to dance with _Tooth _when he hadn't danced with anyone at all in his entire… second life.

Gulping down his nervousness, Jack turned to Tooth and tentatively placed his hand on her waist, and she followed suit by putting her hand on his shoulder, and they joined their other respective hands together. She had flitted down so her feet touched the grass and their height difference was startlingly apparent when she wasn't hovering at his eye level; her forehead came to about his shoulders.

Slowly and clumsily, Jack began to move to the symphonic music, his eyes glued to his feet (barefoot as usual) to make sure he was moving in the right direction. But when he looked up and met Tooth's gaze and saw how kind and nonjudgmental her soft smile was, he felt his stomach untwist a little and his muscles relax, and he started to move easier. Jack was very nimble and light on his feet, after all, and dancing came rather naturally to him. That is, when he wasn't prematurely on edge.

They got through the waltz without a problem, and Jack nearly sighed in relief when it ended simply because he'd yet to make a fool of himself. He opened his mouth to say something when the elves suddenly started up again, this time fast forwarding to the jazz age: they were playing a very slow, romantic number now.

Hastily Jack and Tooth broke apart and began to speak simultaneously,

"We don't have to-"

"Jack, I-"

Faltering, Tooth bit her lip. "I mean, I would be all right if we danced to this, too, but- you're right, of course we don't have to, not if you don't want to."

"No, I mean, if _you_ want to, I want to…" Jack shifted his weight from foot to foot anxiously. Tooth stood for a second longer, her wings fluttering a bit, when a smile broke out on her face and she guided his hands to her waist, both this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying herself into his shoulder.

Tooth was pressed up flush against him and it felt like their hug from only less than an hour before- of course this time they were moving to music, but it was just as intimate, if not more so. Jack wanted to breathe her in completely, to feel the warmth of her body forever. The music was beginning to be drowned out by but what Jack could swear was Tooth's hummingbird fast heartbeat pounding against her ribcage- or perhaps he was just imagining it because of how fast he could feel his own heart pound; the sound flooded his ears and blood rushed through him like raging fire, the opposite of his own ice.

"This is nice," Tooth whispered in a voice so soft Jack had to make sure he wasn't imagining it, but he could feel the movement of her jaw on his shoulder.

"Yeah." Jack smiled, changing the direction of their dance as they swayed, his hands boldly guiding Tooth's hips. "Yeah, it is."

"You're pretty good at dancing," she remarked.

Jack laughed a little. "What, did you think I wouldn't be?"

"No, I actually thought you would be, because…" Tooth trailed off and Jack pulled away so he could look at her.

"Because…?" he prompted, curious.

"Well, I don't know, you're so lithe and… graceful," the fairy tried to explain, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"You think I'm graceful?" Jack smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, of course," Tooth said, as if it was obvious. "I think you're beautiful, Jack."

Stunned, Jack felt like his heart stopped, and as a result, he accidentally stopped dancing. He had meant to tease her, if anything, and he most certainly had not been expecting a response like _that_. It seemed as if it was the second time that night one of them had said something without thinking, because upon seeing Jack's reaction, Tooth immediately colored. A flurry of emotions seemed to pass over her face: embarrassment, shock, and perhaps something like… realization? He wanted to say something but didn't know what- thank you? I think you're beautiful too? Because he _did_, god, how he did.

But then someone bumped into Jack and surveying his surroundings he realized the slow jazz number had transitioned into a more upbeat one; the crowd was now dancing to a much faster tempo. Swallowing, he turned back to Tooth and attempted a grin. "Uh… want to foxtrot?"

Relieved at his diversion or disappointed at his lack of verbal response, Jack couldn't tell, but Tooth took her hands off of his shoulders and said in an unnaturally high pitched, strained voice, "Actually, I think I'll sit this one out! I'm just going to go drink something, okay?"

"Tooth-" Jack started, confused and helpless, but she was already fluttering away, leaving him in a sea of oblivious party-goers. The late summer air was sweetly fragrant with flowers but Jack found it decidedly less appealing than the lingering aroma of Tooth against his skin.

* * *

**a/n: It took a little bit for an update because I wasn't sure which "touch" I wanted this chapter to be, but I decided on dancing. This is the first chapter where Bunnymund has had some dialogue. I'm trying not to neglect the other Guardians as much lol.  
**

**The idea of North holding four seasonal parties is from my Tooth/Jack oneshot "Inebriation", except in that fic the parties are held only for the Guardians. Also, Tooth has a moment of calling Jack beautiful in "Inebriation" which I stole from myself there too. Shh they're just little things, I can do that.  
**

**I bet you guys are all wondering when the main touch of a chapter is going to be a kiss. If I'm going where I think I'm going, it won't be_ too_ much longer. Until then, we wait. ;D  
**

**Thank you so much for following this story; new people keep following it every day recently! As always, leaving a review would be lovely.**


	7. Advice Sought, Advice Gained

**Chapter 7: Advice Sought, Advice Gained**

The thing was, even though Jack was the Guardian of Fun and he was great with kids, since he wasn't used to social interaction in general, the last thing he would be prepared for was a romantic relationship.

In fact, even calling a relationship of his potentially "romantic" seemed to send him on a one-way boat ride down Denial river. Whenever the thought started to creep in his mind, he ignored, ignored, ignored. That's what he was good at, after all. For a long time during his years of isolation, he would ignore the pangs of loneliness and pretend that it wasn't all that bad because at least he had the wind for company.

But it was getting a bit harder to ignore Tooth- which, incidentally, was ironic, because even though that inability pertained to the feelings he got around her, Tooth seemed to have taken to _literally _ignoring him.

It was incredibly frustrating because it seemed as if events without resolutions kept piling up on themselves. At the fireworks, they'd had a one-sided hug with only Tooth doing any of the hugging, and that had never been explained (Jack had certainly avoided explaining it to himself). Tooth had gotten interrupted when she'd said she wanted to "talk about something" at the North Pole, and then she had left him at the end of summer party after his lack of verbalized response to her jarring, flattering remark that he was "beautiful". To his dismay, he hadn't seen her during the rest of the night.

At any rate, September was now close to ending, autumn had fully taken over in Burgess with its budding reds and oranges over fading greens, the smell in the air turned less sweet and more crisp, and, similar to her absence after their trip to Southeast Asia, the last Jack had seen of Tooth was when she had flew away from him in the midst of fox-trotting partiers.

Her retreating wings would not stop clouding his mind, nor would the fact he had not called out to her then, as he had stood amongst dancers with his arm slightly outstretched in a gesture of desperation.

But what would he have said?

* * *

"Jack, you are here just in time to help me with the autumn rush!"

Jack ducked under a yeti carrying a train set as he followed North throughout the workshop. Judging by the busy nature of the place, he assumed the autumn rush meant the accelerated toy making in the few months before Christmas.

"Uh, I wasn't really here for that," Jack said as he sidestepped a bunch of running elves who appeared to be tangled in a string of lights.

North turned to him quizzically, still moving expertly among his workers. "This is busy time- you must have good reason." He said this in a way that indicated he would not be happy if there wasn't a good reason.

"Well, a good reason is… subjective, right?" Jack pointed out uneasily. He had come for a reason, but now that he was here, it was proving to be really hard to get to the point.

North stopped and Jack bumped into him, surprised.

Looking over him, North crossed his arms. "Jack, if you have come here to play around with the yetis and elves when there is work to be done, I will not have it!"

"That's not why I came!"

"Well, why _did _you come? Do not get me wrong, I love you to visit- but it is very busy time!"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Jack sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. "North, have you had any experience with, uh… with women?"

"What? Sorry, Jack, I cannot hear you!" North yelled. And indeed, the yetis next to them were currently undergoing construction of a dollhouse and the noise was deafening.

Frustrated, Jack raised his voice to the point where he was yelling, too, "I said, have you had any experience with _women_?"

And of course, just has he had asked the question the construction stopped, and his yelling seemed to echo off the toyshop walls, causing any other clamor to quiet; all the yetis and elves turned in his direction.

Jack definitely wanted to die, now. _Damn Immortality._

North was staring at him with wide eyes and Jack pressed his hands to his temples and closed his eyes tight. He could feel a headache coming on. "You know what, you're right, it's not a good reason- I shouldn't have come," he said hastily, and began to walk away, but was stopped by a huge tattooed hand.

With a booming laugh, North answered as if Jack hadn't started to leave, "Of course I have had experience with women! Ah yes, I can remember tasting the greatest fruit in Russia- I was a young man once, you know, Jack. Of course, I did not just philander. You have to respect a woman, Jack!"

Jack shook his head, trying to clear it. "Wh- the greatest fruit- okay, I really should go, North," he repeated. "It was a stupid question."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." North stopped him again and put both of his hands on his shoulders, this time picking him up to look him straight in the eye. "If you are asking this, that means you must have _girl _in your life, yes?"

"No, no, no," Jack said a little too quickly, laughing nervously, trying to twist out of North's hold. "It was rhetorical! Completely rhetorical. I mean, you know, if maybe… _one_ day I might, I was just wondering, uh. You know. How I should handle it."

"Ahh, you cannot hide this from ME, Jack. I see all! Everyone!" North spread his arms wide, dropping Jack as a result, who landed swiftly on his bare feet. "Let us all celebrate, for our own Jack Frost has someone special that he hopes he may woo!"

The yetis and elves all cheered, and Phil even came up to shake Jack's hand. Meanwhile, Jack just stood there, dumbfounded and mortified. "I'm not _woo_ing anyone!" Jack protested, his face flaming. Gripping his staff, he turned on his heel and stalked toward the exit. Yes, this had been a very, very bad idea.

"Jack, where are you going?" North sounded dismayed. "I was all ready to put toy making aside for a minute to help!"

"There- there is nothing to be helped with!" Jack called back, flustered. Which, of course, was a lie. But as much as he loved and appreciated him, Jack couldn't really take North's volume or the cheers of his workers at the moment.

* * *

It didn't take much deliberating for Jack to decide he certainly wasn't going to seek guidance from Bunnymund. Of course, he and the pooka had become friends- their banter was based less on aggravation now and more on friendliness. But that didn't mean he wanted to ask him relationship advice- he'd be teased mercilessly. (And, okay, North hadn't been the best option either, but at least his intentions were good).

As he headed back to Burgess on the Northern wind, Jack suddenly thought of asking Jamie. He hadn't seen him in a while, and… well, the kid was young, but he'd also probably had friends his whole life, and he knew more about normal social conventions than Jack did. Maybe.

Touching down to Jamie's partially open window, Jack tapped on the glass lightly with his staff, creating some ice patterns in the process.

"Jack!"

Jamie shot up from his bed immediately, his face bright. Jack smiled at the warm reception and climbed into Jamie's bedroom, nearly falling over in surprise when Jamie bolted straight into him, squeezing him tight.

"Hey," Jack laughed, ruffling Jamie's hair affectionately, always happy to see the first boy who believed in him. "It's been a while!"

"It's been too long of a _while_." Jamie's voice was muffled against Jack's sweatshirt.

"Come on, it's only been a month," Jack said, grinning, pushing Jamie away gently by the shoulders to look at his face.

"Well, you should come back more often." Jamie swung around to sit on his bed and crossed his arms as if to make a point.

"Okay," Jack relented, his heart swelling a little. He was so used to being on his own that even seeing someone once a month was more than he could ask for. It was different when you had… friends. Family. And something other than friends or family, too; Jack was reminded instantly of bright green and blue feathers and floral scents why he had come to see Jamie in the first place.

Cautiously and then with purpose, Jack copied Jamie and sat on his bed, his hands twisting his staff around and around.

"So I came to ask something, actually," Jack started.

"You want to ask _me _something?"

"Yeah, is that so weird?"

"Well, you're Jack Frost, you've probably been around for a long time- shouldn't you know… I dunno, everything?"

Jack laughed at the thought, bringing one of his legs up on the bed and hooking his arm around it comfortably. "I've been around for a while, yeah, but I definitely don't know everything." Jamie nodded slowly at this, mulling it over. "And this," Jack continued, "is kind of a… people problem."

They sat in silence for a moment.

Finally Jamie urged, "Well?"

"Okay." Jack shifted on the bed, not as relaxed as he was before. How was he going to propose this to a kid? "You know how when you get older, you're probably gonna look at girls differently?"

Shuddering, Jamie said, "Yeah, I've seen the sappy stuff my mom watches. I try not to think about it."

"Well, let's pretend that time has come and you suddenly start feeling… uh, _sappy_ toward someone you've been friends with-"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"-and you're not sure whether to tell her, mostly because you're not even sure what you feel. Not to mention you have no idea how _she _feels. What do you do?"

"Um." Jamie crossed his arms, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "Well, I'd just tell her. Even though thinking about it_ now_ really grosses me out- but hey, I'm eight."

"But- you don't know- how do you know what she'll say? What if your friendship is ruined?" Jack protested indignantly.

"I don't, but it's better than keeping it inside, right?" Jamie gave Jack a lopsided smile and shrugged. "Besides, if we're good friends, then it might not even matter."

Jack twirled his staff around, his mind so preoccupied with thoughts of Tooth that he didn't notice when he accidentally started to make it snow in Jamie's room.

"You're making it snow in my room again!" Jamie sounded delighted.

Gripping his staff, Jack started and laughed a bit. "Oh- uh, I didn't actually mean to that time."

Jamie, who had already seemed to forgotten the hypothetical situation he had considered and given rather wise advice for (certainly wise for an eight-year-old but children were often the most telling of people because they were so blunt), turned to face Jack with a grin and asked, "Want to go prank my parents?"

* * *

Night was fully closing in now as Jack rose up with the wind over Burgess. He had teamed up with Jamie to "accidentally" make it snow in Jamie's parents' room, too- they'd woken very confused with flakes melting on their face and Jamie's laughter ringing down the hallway.

_It's better than keeping it inside, right?_

Jack frowned. Jamie was probably right, but every time he pictured himself telling Tooth how he felt, he saw her face being nothing but shocked and pitiful because it was so hard for him to imagine her feeling the same way. He didn't think he could take pity. Not from Tooth. He spent too many years feeling pathetic already, and he wanted to be past that now. Gritting his teeth, Jack skidded his staff among the roof tiles, freezing them as he went.

Dreamsand began to thread through the air and Jack looked up from his perch on a roof; Sandy was right on time, as always.

The sandman drifted in his golden cloud, bringing dreams to sleeping children. He stopped when he saw Jack and gave him a wave. Jack returned the greeting, probably more half-heartedly than he normally would, and was very much surprised when Sandy stopped his work and floated down to see him.

A question mark appeared over Sandy's head.

"Nothing's wrong," Jack lied quickly, his brow furrowed.

Sandy just looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"Well, okay. Something's kind of wrong. How could you tell from all the way up there?"

Sandy shrugged, smiling.

Jack sighed and floated up to the chimney; Sandy followed him, dreamsand trailing as he went. "Okay, say, _hypothetically_, I knew someone who kind of liked a girl but didn't really want to tell her how he felt because-"

Jack stopped when Sandy created a tooth over his head.

"Wh- no- I said this was a hypothetical question about someone else!" Jack protested, his eyes wide and his face heating up furiously (well, as much as his face could).

A man and a question mark appeared over Sandy. _Who would you be asking this for if not yourself?_

"Okay, so it's for me, not for someone else. But it's for the future, in case, I don't know, I ever run into something like this. I mean, there are a _lot _of girl spirits and- uh, and people that I met at North's party-" (which wasn't a lie) "- and I could potentially feel something for them one day, who's to say I don't already do-" (which _was _a lie and now he was just rambling) "- so you see, there's no way it could be- be _Tooth_ because we're... uh... we're both guardians, practically coworkers!"

Sandy was just staring at him with raised eyebrows, as if to say _you seriously think you're going to fool me?_

Jack groaned, raising his hood up, hoping he could disappear into it. "Am I that obvious?"

Eyebrows still up, Sandy smirked. Then he gestured with his hand, as if to urge Jack to keep speaking, and to ask what he was going to do about all of it.

"That's the thing- I know I _should_ tell her. Jamie thinks I should talk to her (is it pathetic I went to an 8-year-old about this?) but the whole thing… just freaks me out."

Jack felt a hand resting gently on his sleeve; he looked up from under his hood and saw Sandy smiling assuredly at him. A little bit of weight seemed to be lifted off of Jack's shoulders, then, and he smiled back. He would talk to Tooth about everything… eventually. Soon, really, he would. For now, he was going to let things run their course.

At least he wasn't in complete denial anymore, right?

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys still enjoyed the chapter despite the lack of Tooth/Jack interaction- I'm actually worried since it's a first, but this had to be done! Don't kill me? I'll make it up to you in the next one. ;D Hopefully it was still a fun read. This was the lack of touch chapter, and Jack is really going to be craving it now. (Sorry about the lack of Bunnymund, too- I should give him and Jack a scene later on).  
**

**Btw, I never acknowledged it an A/N which I totally should have but someone drew lovely fanart for TiaFT a few chapters ago. It made me so happy. I've also drawn some myself shamelessly so I'll put those in my profile, too.  
**

**Incidentally, "Denial river" was inspired by this great comment in a review: "I think Tooth may have been dumped out of the river known as Denial and plunked straight onto Realization Road. Then got run over by the Truth Bus."**

**You guys have been so great with your reviews! :D I really appreciate all of it so much. Please tell me what you think as always!**


	8. A Little Distance Goes a Long Way

**Chapter 8: A Little Distance Goes a Long Way**

"Jack! Glad you could finally make it! Of course, if you hadn't made it, you would've been kicked out of Guardians." North's laugh boomed over the icy landscape as he clapped Jack hard on the back and urged him inside the Pole. "Just kidding, just kidding, I cannot do that."

Jack sighed, barely registering the words of the jovial Russian. Normally he would be amused by North's joking, but recently he hadn't been in the mood for it. Besides, he was only five minutes late. He slid his feet on the tiled floor of the entrance into the workshop, getting the melted snow off them. Today there was a scheduled "Guardians meeting", which basically meant they were going to sit at a table at the North Pole and discuss the belief of the children around the world and the possibility of Pitch coming back and what to do about other potential threats. Ever since he had become a guardian, they had had two of these meetings. Jack always found them boring as hell; it was in his nature. He couldn't help it. But this time, he was nervous. Nervous because he was about to see Tooth.

Perhaps it would have been easier for Jack to employ Jamie and Sandy's advice if it had been actually possible for him to do so.

Telling her how he felt was hard when Jack's daily life had become completely devoid of Tooth at all, and the beginning of October marked nearly a month since the seasonal party. He was seriously starting to feel like he'd done something horribly wrong. Yes, she certainly had a busy job, but they'd always made time for each other's company before.

After a quick elevator ride accompanied by cheery Christmas instrumentals, Jack followed North into the conference room that looked out over the wide expanse of the arctic landscape, the sun shining brightly over the tall mountains and glaciers, causing them to gleam. In the middle of the room was the long table, and there sat Bunnymund and Sandy on one side, and Tooth on the other. On cue, they all turned to look at him.

"'Bout time you showed up," Bunnymund deadpanned at Jack, while directing toward North, "told you he was too irresponsible to be a proper guardian."

Jack just rolled his eyes, knowing the pooka was saying that out of jest (and mostly habit). Sandy nodded at him and Jack grinned slightly in return. Then he looked at Tooth.

She looked… apprehensive. Probably as much as _he _looked. She appeared to attempt a smile but it looked more like she was in pain. "Hello." Her voice was quiet and a bit unsteady; she quickly averted her eyes back to the table in front of her, grabbing a stack of papers as if they extremely important at that very moment.

"Um." Jack winced at how raspy his voice sounded- when did his throat become so dry? "Hey," he managed to get out, and took the seat beside Tooth as he always did. After a couple seconds he realized the other guardians were all staring at them. North looked interested, Sandy looked knowing (he was smirking, that little-), and Bunnymund looked plain confused.

"What's going on with you two, then?" Bunnymund asked blatantly. He wasn't one to beat around the bush.

Jack's heart stuttered in surprise and he looked up sharply. "Wh- nothing," he protested, while Tooth instantaneously squawked frantically, "Why do you ask that?"

Bunnymund stared at them, taken aback by these uncharacteristic reactions, and raised his paws up as a sign of defeat. "Okay, okay, you loons. You just seemed a bit… weird, is all."

"Well, we're not _weird_," Tooth said, pronouncing the word like it was the silliest she'd ever heard. "Right, Jack?" She looked at him, egging him on.

"Yeah!" Jack agreed, nodding fervidly. "No weirdness here. Completely normal stuff. Normal. So, hey," he slapped the table in enthusiasm, putting on a big grin, "who wants to get started, huh?"

Sandy was looking as if he was trying hard not to laugh (damn him), Bunnymund was staring at him like he'd grown a second head, and North just seemed shocked and pleased. "Why, I did not know you were so into meetings now, Jack!" North exclaimed cheerfully. "Yes, let us begin!"

Unfortunately, this meant that North involved Jack much more in the meeting than he normally had before, meaning he kept asking Jack hypothetical questions on what they should do if there was an attack from Pitch and how stable and increasing he thought the belief of children in himself was. It was dragging on longer than usual, and it was absolutely excruciating.

Really, it wouldn't have been that excruciating if he wasn't sitting right next to Tooth. It felt like every nerve in his body was standing on end, every muscle was tensed. He wasn't even paying attention to what North and Bunnymund were saying half the time, much less focusing on Sandy's signs.

Tooth spoke rarely, which was unusual for her- she often had much to say at these meetings. But today she was near-silent. Jack could sense her own tensed position, her back straight and her face never turning toward him. It was only on accident that they made contact- their hands brushed together when he moved a little bit to the right. Just from that simple touch, Jack's heart began racing like mad, and he was so surprised that he pulled away as if he'd been stung. Tooth's tiny fist was clenched and when he glanced at her, she was staring down at it with intense concentration. Her mouth was open like she wanted to speak. But again, she said nothing. Jack felt something in him fall. It had gotten to the point where if he touched her, even by accident, he worried he might offend or upset her somehow. Where had their comfortable rhythm gone? His throat was thick and he swallowed hard, a sudden sadness gripping him out of nowhere, and to his utter astonishment, he felt like he wanted to cry.

Thankfully, this exchange surprisingly went unnoticed by the other guardians because they were currently occupied in discussing something to do with South America.

"You know, guys, I think I'm just gonna skip the rest of this," Jack spoke up suddenly. Everyone turned to him in surprise, including Tooth. Without waiting for a response, Jack pushed his chair up with a loud scrape and made for the exit.

"You can't just leave in the middle of a meeting!" Bunnymund protested after him, sounding annoyed. But Jack ignored him as he grabbed his staff from its leaning position against the wall and pushed open the large wooden door. When he closed it behind him, he stopped, taking in a deep breath because he desperately needed the oxygen- it was getting hard for him to breathe properly; something was constricting his chest, and he didn't know what or why. He closed his eyes tightly, and images clouded his vision- images of his family.

Seriously? He was having a memory episode _now_? Really bad timing, brain. This was, in fact, only one of the few times this had happened to him, and every other time he had been with… Tooth. Great. But he couldn't be with her now. Sometimes these flashbacks happened in a manner of seconds, and sometimes it seemed they could last up to a minute, always ending with dizziness and nausea. Looked like this one was going to be the latter.

He stumbled, slightly, holding onto his staff for support, and ended up leaning against the wall, gulping as he tried to let the unpleasant sensation of memories force themselves back into his consciousness. This was the first time this had happened to him alone, and despite the fact Tooth was technically only about twenty feet away with just a door as a barrier, recently it felt like there was an ocean between them, and he kept calling out from across the sea but the waves were too loud, the wind was too heavy, or perhaps she just didn't want to hear him.

Jack's vision blurred. The memories were not coherent this time. Sometimes they were happy, sometimes they weren't, but slowly they started to subside. When he saw a figure in front of him, a figure of brilliant blues and greens and yellows, he thought perhaps it was part of his imagination or a side effect of the attack.

"Jack!"

But no, happily the vision was real. Tooth stood anxiously before him- hovered, rather- and then pulled him in to rest upon her shoulder, her strong but small arms wrapped around his neck. Jack felt like crying again but this time from relief, because she was _there_ and she was holding him and he didn't know why she was but he wanted it to last forever. It had been too long, much too long.

"It came at a bad time," Jack mumbled incoherently against her feathers, but Tooth understood.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head; Jack felt her move against the side of his face; her soft feathers brushed his skin- a sensation he hadn't felt in ages. "First I… and now this-"

"It's okay. I know it's confusing." He didn't clarify what was confusing, but they both knew. His voice was quiet, and he tried to make it louder. "Thanks for-"

"Jack, of course I'm here," Tooth interrupted vehemently, already realizing what he had been about to thank her for. "I came out to find you because I wanted to apologize for how I'd been acting, how I'd been ig-ig_noring_ you. That's not like me, Jack. I don't do that."

"Then why?" Jack asked, his voice a bit stronger now, and he pushed himself off the fairy to lean against the wall.

Tooth laughed softly and mirthlessly, a dour sound he had never heard from her before. "Isn't it obvious?"

Something nearly palpable was suspended in the air: it was a tension again, but this time one of a different sort. Jack felt his throat thickening again and becoming dry and a million questions ran through his mind. Was it obvious? Was _what _obvious? What did she mean? Could she possibly feel the same way as he did? Was it perhaps that his feelings were obvious and she didn't reciprocate so she was trying to stay away from him?

Jack started to shake his head, his eyebrows furrowed. "Tooth," he began, trailing off slightly but with every intention to say that it _wasn't _obvious, not to him, because he couldn't know what she wanted until she told him and she knew that which was why she looked so guilty and miserable-

-but he was comically and regrettably cut off from the wooden door of the conference room opening and the other Guardians filing out, their neutral faces immediately dawning concern. Always, always interrupted.

"Jack and Tooth, so this is where you went off to!" North exclaimed with raised eyebrows.

"Everything all right here, mates?" Bunnymund asked, looking rightfully confused. Jack kind of felt bad that he was completely left out of the loop, but it's not like North completely knew what was going on at the moment.

Sandy, on the other hand, picked things up quickly, and eyed Jack meaningfully, his concern still prevalent.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, everything's fine," he said in response to Bunnymund, but he was looking at Tooth, and he was sure his face conveyed the opposite.

"Right," Bunnymund said slowly, obviously not believing him at all. "Well, I've got things to take care of, so-"

"Ah, yes, yes, we'll have next meeting within the month," North said, nodding, looking distracted as a yeti came up to him with a list on a clipboard. "Sooner than normal. I must get back to work, Christmas is not far away!" He said goodbye to everyone, turning and walking off to consult with the yeti, and Sandy and Bunnymund went off down the hallway, each acknowledging Jack and Tooth in the process. Sandy held Jack's gaze a bit longer than Bunnymund.

Then it was just them, alone. Jack stared hard at the floor, studying the wood paneled floorboards. He was ready to leave and not continue their conversation, but Tooth surprised him by asking, her voice a little shaky,

"Do you want to take a walk?"

* * *

**a/n: ****I want to suspend the tension as long as possible hehehe. I'm not even sorry.  
I _am_ sorry** **that it's been a little while though. ;_; It seems to take me a couple weeks sometimes to start the next chapter and then it depends on when the words will be able to flow. In fact, I wrote a lot of this chapter today just because I got in the groove.**

******Also, wow, this story is nearly at 200 followers! I'm so happy a lot of people seem to like this story. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed this one. I enjoyed writing it. The distance in the title is now supposed to represent the rift that has grown between them... but it's going to mend itself soon. ;D  
**


	9. Turning Point

**Chapter 9: Turning Point  
**

Jack dug his feet deep into the snow as he walked, watching the little tufts shoot up with each step he took. The cool wind felt good on his cold-receptive skin, but it didn't calm his pounding heart and jittery hands. Watching the fluffs of snow was much easier than looking at the fairy currently hovering along beside him. In fact, he was worried if he actually looked at her, he might have some sort of nervous breakdown. This was ridiculous. This was _Tooth_. He was supposed to feel his most comfortable with her. And, okay, yes, at times it could be quite uncomfortable as well, but this was a different tension. This was a tension where something was just on the very edge of happening but it hadn't quite happened yet.

And that was probably because neither of them had said a word after Jack had suggested they "take a walk".

He was still confused about Tooth's feelings because she hadn't actually said what the hell they even were, what she felt about him. But, of course, he hadn't either. They were both at a loss with each other, doing a strange sort of dance, not wanting to step on the other's toes out of fear. But Jack didn't want to be afraid anymore. He was going to do something about this, damn it. He was going to tell her what he felt.

But instead what came out was, "I always feel like a yeti is watching me."

Jack felt Tooth turn her eyes to him in surprise. He looked at her and then quickly looked away, furrowing his brow, not really registering what just came out of his mouth. Wasn't he going to finally admit his feelings?

"I mean, you know," he continued hastily, trying to backtrack while kicking the snow up higher into the air, "it feels like you can never have any privacy at the Pole, what with yetis going around gathering wood and stuff."

There was a silence, and then as if on cue, a yeti came marching out of the forest about twenty yards in front of them, carrying at least seven logs. After a beat, Tooth snorted, and then broke out laughing.

"I'm sorry," she said, shakily wiping away tears of mirth, "I just- all this nervous energy- what are we _doing_?"

Jack laughed a bit too, despite himself. "I don't know. I honestly don't." He felt the unease start to leave him, a familiar warmth replacing it. He grinned a little and looked over at Tooth again. She was staring at him wordlessly, her eyes soft, her smile gentle. Jack felt his heart swell in his chest; a tingling sensation spread to his fingertips, creating a buzz at the edge of his nerves.

"Let's go up to that cliff so we have a good view," Jack suggested suddenly. Then he added with mock annoyance, "to get away from the yetis. Can't get any privacy around here."

Tooth laughed again, shaking her head, and they flew up together to a high peak on the edge of a mountain, looking over the edge of the boreal forest that extended into the arctic, the ice glaciers that held North's workshop in the distance. Sunlight peaked through the billowing gray masses of clouds, causing some of the icy mountains to sparkle and gleam in the golden glow.

"Beautiful, isn't it," Tooth remarked nonchalantly. Jack knew she was probably stalling, but went along with it anyway.

"Mm," he agreed, surveying the landscape. There was a beat, and then simultaneously they spoke-

"Tooth, I-"

"Jack-"

Jack stopped and Tooth shut her mouth, surprised. This was getting ridiculous.

"You go first-"

"No, you're the one that wanted to talk a walk, you go-"

Well, that was undeniably true. Jack sighed, pulling at the collar of his hoodie and running his fingers down its strings. He wanted to ask. He wanted to know why Tooth had been avoiding him, what it meant when she left him at that dance in the falling dusk with a flustered face and ruffled feathers, why she had called him "beautiful". There were so many things he didn't understand, things he could guess about but worry he was wrong. Jack just was not good at this. And he wasn't sure if he knew how to phrase anything without messing it up.

So instead of using words, he used touch instead.

He took her hands in his, and she was so startled that she stopped fluttering midair and her feet hit the snow abruptly. A soft "oh" escaped her lips, her perfect mouth parted as she stared at the innocent place of contact. Just less than an hour before, they had accidentally touched and she had jerked away, as if shocked. It was different this time. This time, it was as if she was frozen, save for the slow rhythm of her shoulders from her shaky breaths. Jack ran his thumbs over the tops of her hands, grazing over where feathers met skin, his own hands so big compared to hers that he felt he could engulf them completely.

And then like coming out of a trance, he brought his hands back, doubt overtaking him, suddenly worried he had just done something wrong and completely unnatural. Jack stood there, his heart pounding in his ears, head swimming, unable to look at Tooth directly in the face.

He heard an indignant huff; Tooth's tiny hands took his, grasping them with what seemed like exasperation. Looking up, Jack saw an expression on Tooth's face he couldn't quite decipher. She tightened her grip, and pulled him closer with a surprising amount of strength that Jack often forgot she possessed (she _was_ the queen of tooth fairies after all).

They were standing just a couple inches apart; it reminded Jack again of their dance months before.

"I'm not very good at this," Jack said, his voice accidentally coming out in a sort of strangled whisper. He was surprised he could even speak at all.

"You think I am?" Tooth asked, half smiling, her voice soft as well. "At least, if by _this_, you mean…" She trailed off and as if with a sudden surge of boldness, Tooth took her hands away from his and instead ran them up his arms, dragging his sleeves up halfway, sending shivers down his spine. He swallowed; his mouth was quickly becoming dry. She then brought her hands to his face, fingertips trailing over his icy skin. Her eyes were a bit wide as if she was rather shocked by her own actions, but she did not stop. Cupping his jaw, she pulled him closer until their mouths were nearly touching.

A few seconds passed but it felt like an hour before they leaned in forward at once, Jack wasn't even sure who kissed who first, but he found it hard to care when Tooth's lips were gently pulling at his, her breath so warm and contrasting perfectly with his own. Like clockwork Jack tugged her by the waist and her body melded into his naturally, the gesture blurring the line between innocence and pent up desire. But despite this undercurrent, the kiss was sweet, teeming with affection.

Finally they pulled away from each other (much to Jack's dismay). Tooth's complexion was significantly redder than before, and Jack was sure his own face very likely mirrored it. He felt the heat pulsing through his body; with Tooth was the only time any heat even coursed through him at all, despite the fact that while it felt warm to him, it probably wasn't very warm to the average person. But still, he felt as if the snow around him would start melting from radiation.

And while he felt this sensation based on exhilaration and embarrassment, he also felt it due to happiness and relief. He felt so _relieved_, relieved that Tooth felt the same way about him (or certainly seemed to, based on what had just occurred).

"That was, uh… that was really good," Jack said, his voice coming out breathless, and he blushed harder if possible because what kind of thing to say was that? He cursed himself inwardly, but Tooth just laughed, her wings fluttering out of nervous excitement.

"It was," she agreed happily, her voice warm. Then she took his hands again. "I… I like you, Jack. A lot."

Jack's heart swelled. "I like you, too," he said quietly, sincerely hoping this wasn't a dream or some messed up hallucination as a result of his flashback problem. "A lot."

Tooth squeezed his hands, her eyes brightening with delight. Then she blinked, sobering up when she admitted, "I was ignoring you because I was scared."

"Scared of what?" Jack asked, though he knew exactly what because it was probably everything _he_ had been scared of.

"Scared of rejection," Tooth sighed, shrugging her shoulder. "Scared of my own feelings, what they meant, what it would mean to our friendship, even what it would mean to our relationships with all the Guardians. I wonder what they'll think, now…"

"Well, Bunnymund might be in for a shock," Jack said, laughing a bit. "Sandy already knows."

Tooth's head snapped up in surprise, letting go of his hands. "He does?"

"Yeah, he's certainly perceptive." Jack thought back to his conversation with the sandman on a roof and inwardly cringed- Sandy could read him like an open book. "As for North, well… he'll probably chide himself on not having figured it out." Of course, North knew that Jack was interested in someone, but Jack wasn't sure if North knew exactly _who_.

"Well, whatever their reactions will be, I'm a bit apprehensive, Jack. Not just that, but about everything. About what a relationship will be." Tooth rubbed at her arms nervously. "Not because it's with you, of course! You're... you're _wonderful_. It's only because I've never done anything like this before. Not really."

Jack breathed out slowly as he looked at Tooth, her feathers ruffled and cheeks still bright, her wings beating every so often as she switched from standing to hovering like she couldn't decide what she wanted to do. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, causing her to stay still. She blinked her eyes at him.

"It'll be fine, Tooth," he said earnestly; the tension drained away from Tooth's face. She nodded, smiling. And Jack really believed that, too. It would be fine. He finally had stopped running away. They both had.

He took her small hand in his, and together they walked back to the North Pole, Tooth letting her wings rest so she could be by his side, Jack completely and utterly happy to have her there.

* * *

**A/N:** **I am SO sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long. I'm terrible. But for some reason I couldn't find motivation to finish this chapter until now. I didn't have most of it written until yesterday. D: I just wasn't sure where I wanted to go and it was hard for me to start. But I hope you're all still with me, and this isn't the last chapter! I'm planning on having one more, at least.  
**

**I hope for the wait that this was satisfactory, and also the length wasn't too short. Reviews would be lovely to let me know you're still here and what you think of the update. **


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